Monday, September 10, 2007

1970's Flashback: The Demon

Hey everybody! It's Jack Kirby week, so each day we'll take a look at some very cool titles that the King introduced in the 1970's, starting with a run of classics made after his famous jump from Marvel to DC.

First up is The Demon who first appeared in Sept. 1972, shortly after Kirby's various Fourth World series were cancelled [more on those starting tomorrow]. Etrigan was originally summoned by the wizard Merlin as part of a last-ditch defense of Camelot against the evil witch, Morgana le Fay. When it became clear that the kingdom would fall regardless, Merlin sent the demon away and changed him into an immortal human named Jason Blood to wait until he was summoned.

"Change! Change, O form of man!Release the might from fleshy mire!Boil the blood in heart of fire!Gone! Gone! -- the form of man --Rise, the Demon Etrigan!!"

Centuries later, Jason was called to the crypt of Merlin and discovered a poem that could change him into Etrigan. Unfortunately, he was followed by the long-lived Morgana who lusts for Merlin's secrets. Etrigan/Blood later gained another enemy in Klarion the Witch Boy, a permanently prepubescent mage who creates trouble with his magic.

Etrigan, is an actual demon from Hell who, despite his violent tendencies, usually finds himself allied to the forces of good, primarily because of the alliances between certain heroes of the DC Universe and Jason Blood. Etrigan resembles a squat, muscular human with orange (or yellow) skin, horns, red eyes, and ears resembling bat wings. Jason Blood is a tall, suave man with dark hair and a lined face. The Demons powers include: super-human physical attributes, extrasensory powers, a regenerative healing factor, magical powers, precognition, telepathy,Immortality,and he can project flames of mystical hellfire.

1 comment:

How it all began ....

In 1933, publishers at Eastern Color Press, intent to make better use of their printing equipment (which frequently sat idle between jobs), came up with the idea of printing an 8-page comic section that could be folded down from the large broadsheet to a smaller 9-inch by 12-inch format. The result was the first modern comic book. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled "Funnies On Parade" was given away for free. It proved so popular that the following year Eastern published "Famous Funnies" and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. The enterprise was a smashing success and Eastern began churning out numerous reprints on a monthly basis. Other publishers, eager to get in on the profits, jumped on the bandwagon and the comic book industry was born!